Figure (music)

In music, a figure is a recurring fragment or succession of notes that may be used to construct the accompaniment. A figure is distinguished from a motif in that a figure is background while a motif is foreground: "A figure resembles a moulding in architecture: it is 'open at both ends', so as to be endlessly repeatable. In hearing a phrase as a figure, rather than a motif, we are at the same time placing it in the background, even if it is...strong and melodious." (Scruton 1997: 61) A figure may be melodic (pitch) and/or rhythmic (duration).

Related Topics:
Music - Accompaniment - Motif - Pitch - Rhythm

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A phrase originally presented or heard as a motif may become a figure which accompanies another melody, such as in the second movement of Claude Debussy's String Quartet:

Related Topics:
Claude Debussy - String Quartet

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Roger Scruton (1997: 63) describes some music by Philip Glass as "nothing but figures...endless daisy-chains," such as Ekhnaton.

Related Topics:
Philip Glass - Ekhnaton

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The 1964 Grove's Dictionary defines figure as follows:

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• "any short succession of notes, either as melody or group of chords, which produces a single complete and distinct impression. The term is the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif'. It is the shortest idea in music."
 
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